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For those that don't know Tuxi was a rescue from TJO in MA a high volume kill shelter where every other dog is a Pit Bull. Why she was pulled and ended up here is a long story and water under the bridge. Her first year here saw her almost die on the operating table on her spay. Her uterus was plain worn out. She did NOT have Pyo it was just stretched out from litters. On top of that she had tumours on her ovaries. The vet thought she excised all the cancerous stuff while she was in there. This dog's nipples were also about an inch long. It wasn't the mammaries, it was the teat its self. She was a mess. But oh so loveable. High prey drive and very dog aggressive she needed a special home. Tuxi was adopted last Spring by a friend of ours and was waiting for his house to be finished so she could go home. She was finally getting to be the only animal in the household and live like a Queen. The friend even was joining the New England club to see about helping out. Keep in mind that Tuxi was about 6 or 7 when I got her here. She was here 2 1/2 years. She was here so long she was a member of the family as ANY foster should be. Tuxi going to her new home wasn't to be. She had started dropping weight in Aug. so in she went for a blood panel. Nothing. Worming etc. was done. Her coat was shiny and clean, just she was getting thin. I was hoping her cancer hadn't returned but I knew it had. Along this time she was starting to act slightly, well, odd about her crate. When we had company over she'd start barking, growling, and slamming the crate to get them. This was a VERY new development, something she had NEVER done. Remember she'd been here over 2 years at this time. Eaten poultry, chased cats up trees, sure, but this thing? No. She ended up starting the only 2 fights I've ever had between my dogs with this behavior. Each time my dogs were relatively easy to get off of each other. Sigh. Cuddles peeing every time I looked at her for a whole week was a joy NOT. Shortly before the second and last fight she started Tuxi went back to the vet. Her cancer had been back as I suspected. So now what? I took her home and told Manette. He called his friend and told them Tuxi wasn't up for adoption and why. We found him a little spotted APBT in a kill shelter up here. That felt good LOL We walked into the place with Laura in tow and the officer says "We don't adopt Pits to families" I smiled and said That's ok I'm not looking HE is and he's single, no kids, and a home owner WITH a fenced yard. They had to give him the dog. Anyway, back to Tuxi. As I said she'd been getting ultra wonky about her crate so I had changed crates, changed rooms, a whole bunch of stuff. She was fine zipping around the house with people just not the crate. And she was still losing weight. Did I mention there was a mutual hatred between her and Bug? That was my nightmare, her and Bug loose together. Well that last fight was caused by the then 10 year old horsing around with the baby. Tuxi went off on them and Bug charged into it barking back. Then Cuddles grabbed Bug and started dragging her across the floor away from Tuxi. Thankfully there were no injuries on the dogs. Some swelling but no cuts or punctures. There was another side altercation that happened but really has no bearing on Tuxi's tale. We had a decision to make and we had to weigh the fact that we have kids and other animals here also. Most of whom were already here when Tuxi came. I took her back to the vets one last time. Her tumours were back this time on her other organs as I knew in my heart they were. Her prognosis wasn't the greatest. That was a #### hard day. Kelly and I sat in that office holding her and crying for hours. We almost got up and took her home. But was that the best thing for her? How much longer would she have had a quality of life? We held her and cried over her and she licked our tears as she went. It sucked. Tuxi is on top of the TV in a box that matches Hemi's. Magic's tiny box is in the center. For all those people out there breeding litter after litter and "placing" your old dogs, SHAME ON YOU. They are not puppy factories or a cash crop. They are dogs. They feel pain and neglect as any other animal does. Maybe all of you with the disposable dogs need a Tuxi to come into your lap. And people wonder why I don't breed dogs. Why should I? There are enough dogs that are super and wonderful that I can offer a great home to one without the breeding strings. Showing dogs is just a game in the scheme of life so I don't take it very seriously. I know what I have at my house. The best dogs in the whole wide world. I don't need to pay for a class and get a ribbon saying I do. |
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